The Will to Reach You
by UsaratonkachiNindo
Summary: No matter what he says, Sasuke will always be a part of Team Seven, and Naruto's never going to give him up. New Year's Fic. Sasunaru/Narusasu if you squint. ONESHOT


So hello there lovelies~ I hope you have been doing well

Now, I know I said I was going to post a Christmas ficlet... but as you can see the date, the deadline was well past *sweatdrops*  
I sincerely apologize for that. I've been terrible with keeping my promises the past few week :(

As compensation for that, here's a lil ficlet I worked on today! Please forgive me if there are mistakes here and there; I didn't have much time to beta it other than punctuation eh heh.

Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto franchise.**

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**The Will to Reach You**

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The street glowed with lanterns of different colors, sounds of laughter and bits of conversations reverberating joyfully as Naruto strolled through the village. Festivities were always big in Konoha, and New Year's was no exception. There were only a few hours left until the old ended and the new began. Despite the biting cold wind, the atmosphere brimmed with warmth and excitement of the holiday season.

It's only been a few months since Naruto came back from his three years of training with the perverted hermit. A lot of things have changed during his absence.

There was no doubt that many of his fellow graduates from the academy had matured significantly over the years. Though they still goofed around like old times, the sense of responsibility and well-controlled demeanor was unmistakable.

But Naruto found that they weren't the only ones that have changed.

After the incident regarding the removal of the One-Tail from Gaara by Akatsuki, many of the villagers began to see the fox vessel in a different light. Yes, there were still hostile looks that were shot at him in distaste as he walked by, but there were also looks that almost looked obliging if not pleasant that were sent in a reclined matter. Others even nodded to Naruto in acknowledgement, and the occasional child smiled at him shyly, an action that was unimaginable if it were a few years back.

Naruto found himself in a more welcoming environment than when he left three years ago.

It was really different in comparison to the feelings of neglect and rejection he had felt in the past. Maybe he wasn't fully accepted, but he felt like he actually belonged somewhere. He had people that he cared about (and cared for him.) The small little boy who always sat on the tree swing watching from afar wasn't alone anymore.

"Naruto! Hey, anyone in there?" A slender hand reached out from the side and knocked the boy in question on the forehead a few times for good measure. The blond snapped out of his thoughts and stumbled in his stride, letting out a small noise of surprise. He turned towards the offender, rubbing his forehead gently. At the sight of the pink-haired kunoichi, Naruto squinted his eyes, feinting hurt as he sulked.

"Sakura-chaaaan, that hurt!" Said girl giggled at his whine, and Naruto's pout faded into a grin.

"I called out to you multiple times, but you never answered," she replied as they continued the walk down the street.

"Ah, sorry about that. I was just thinking," Naruto gave a sheepish smile.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Naruto? _Thinking_? That's dangerous."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

At this, the other laughed, waving it off to show she was joking. "But hey, what were you thinking about so much?" she asked, glancing over to show her curiosity.

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing really. Just that it feels…" he paused, trying to find the right word to use. "...different having people to spend New Year's with, I guess." The blond ran a hand through his hair, grin fading slightly. "It's the first time I didn't sit in my house alone."

The sparkle in Sakura's eyes dimmed at her teammate's words, and guilt slowly pooled in her stomach. Unlike her and the rest of the village who had at least one person to share their happiness with, Naruto had spent the holiday as he usually did… alone.

Seeing the change in expression on Sakura's face, Naruto flashed another smile, equally as radiant as the previous if not more. "B-but hey! This year, I have nothing to worry about, right?" He nudged her slightly, and though the guilt didn't completely fade, upon seeing the bright face of her friend, Sakura grinned back.

"Yeah. You're right, Naruto." A comfortable silence fell over the two as they continued their stroll, and Naruto's thoughts wandered off once again.

Yeah, he wasn't alone this year. After all, he had so many people that he could spend his days with now, like Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei… hell, even Sai. Not to mention all the members of the Rookie Nine: Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Kiba, Shino, Hinata…

An image of a smirking boy with onyx eyes and ebony hair the shape of a chicken's butt that strangely didn't look weird on him appeared in his thoughts, and Naruto inwardly sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

…well. _Almost_ all the Rookie Nine.

Those years spent training were also years spent preparing for the time when he would have to face his old teammate once more.

Their meeting, upon recollection, however, didn't go exactly as planned, and Naruto grimaced at his failure to bring Sasuke back… again. Seeing his former teammate also confirmed what Naruto was afraid of, that Sasuke had fallen into darkness rather deeply to the point where he would sent an apathetic, cold stare to both him and Sakura, his _friends_, before intending to kill them. Would it be _former_ friends in the raven's mind now? After all, he _did_ say he severed all the bonds he made.

Though he wouldn't easily admit this in front of Sakura, that indifferent gaze sent by Sasuke shook Naruto. No matter how hard he searched, there was no signs of the boy that he used to call his best friend in those cold, steel-like eyes.

Was revenge truly worth throwing away everything he cared about? The Uchiha said so himself that he didn't want to lose the people most precious to him again.

Fists involuntarily bunched up in his pockets as he glared at the ground. "Then why... how could you abandon us?" he mumbled, distressed and confused before thinking to the side, "How could you abandon _me_?"

Naruto's musings were cut short when Sakura abruptly stopped, making him do the same.

"What's wrong?" he asked, cocking his head to the side slightly.

The pink-haired girl turned towards her friend. "Hey… if you've spent every New Year's at home, then I'm guessing you've never burned a Hiimang before, right?"

Confusion scrunched up Naruto's face, and he fully faced the other, eyes piqued with interest. "Hiimang? What's that?"

Sakura beamed, and before Naruto could continue questioning her, she took his arm and began dragging him away from the town and towards the wall surrounding the village.

The poor boy could only stumble to catch up with Sakura's pace, curiosity dying to be satisfied. But before he could open a mouth to protest, the kunoichi beat him to the explanation.

"Hiimang," she began as they approached the gate located near the Hyuuga Clan's residence, "is a type of flower that only blooms in Konoha during wintertime. It looks like a lily, except it grows underneath trees right outside the village. They're not exactly uncommon, but they can be hard to find."

Naruto nodded, but his eyebrows furrowed, still confused. "Oookay... so what's special about them?"

'I'm getting there," Sakura replied impatiently as she led them through the gates out towards the forest. "It's tradition to burn them and then us-"

"Whoa whoa, you _BURN_ them?" Naruto exclaimed, his face incredulous. "Why the hell would you burn them when you went through so much trouble looking for them? Are you crazy-"

Out of nowhere, an iron fist came upon Naruto's head.

Hard.

"LET. ME. FINISH," the tempered pinkette growled, ignoring the pained groans of the blond who was now on the ground, holding his head gingerly.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaan," he whined but immediately shut up at the murderous gaze she sent him. Forget S-rank criminals and chakra monsters. Nothing was scarier than an angry woman. Not to mention, an angry woman who knew how to fight.

"As I was saying, before I was _rudely_ interrupted," Sakura went on, shooting a warning glance at Naruto, "The people of the village burn the Hiimang flower, _not_ because they're out of their right minds, but because of what it leaves behind for us."

After recovering from his assault, Naruto grudgingly followed the other farther into the forest, grumbling under his breath. To his surprise, they were alone. There were no other villagers scavenging the grounds for a flower. Sakura later explained that most of the villagers take part in the tradition on actual New Year's Day, but she was used to doing it when the clock struck twelve. The girl then began searching the landscape, and soon enough, a sound of delight came from Sakura as she bent down, motioning Naruto to come closer.

As he squatted next to Sakura, she uncovered two flowers. The flowers were an array of yellow, orange, and salmon petals, green leaves sprouting from the bottom and circling the petals in a wave-like fashion. The scarlet centers stood out startlingly, and upon closer look, Naruto noticed a tiny, white sac-like bud right in the middle of each. All in all, it was a beautiful arrangement, being no bigger than the half the palm of his hand.

"Oooh…" he awed at them as Sakura broke them off their tiny, stubby stems, handing one to Naruto. She giggled lightly at his reaction before walking towards a flat boulder nearby. Naruto followed absent-mindedly, still admiring the tiny flower in his hand.

"Now," Sakura started, snapping her fingers lightly in front of Naruto's face to get his attention. "There's not much time to go back to the village to get some matches. Lucky for us, the Hiimang flower reacts when exposed to chakra consistently. All you have to do is gather a continuous amount of chakra towards your hands and into the flower to make it combust into flames." To demonstrate, she cupped both her hands around the flower before closing her eyes, concentrating the chakra flow to her hands in consistent amounts. Moments later, a tiny flame formed in the center of the flower, and Sakura quickly let it fall on the boulder, watching as the fire grew and engulfed the rest of the petals. What was left over afterwards was a pile of ashes, which she then neatly transferred into the palm of her hand, closing around it firmly.

Naruto followed his friend's steps, cupping the flower gently in his hands before molding chakra into his palms. It took a little longer, but the eventual result was no less than Sakura's. Naruto scooped the ashes into his hand before looking towards Sakura.

"Okay, we have the ashes. Now what?"

The kunoichi merely smiled before jumping up to a barren tree branch. "Well, what're you waiting for? C'mon!" She then climbed higher and higher.

Naruto blinked once, a grin gracing his lips before following the pink-haired girl.

Not long afterwards did Sakura stop, deeming they were up high enough. The two were only about halfway up the tree, so the only view that greeted them was the sight of multiple other tree branches, all stripped of leaves due to it being winter time, yet it was no less a breathtaking view.

Because they were all barren, the chilly breeze of the night easily swept through and caressed Naruto's cheeks, and he shivered lightly in response.

"I didn't fully explain why we burned the flowers," Sakura began, glancing up to the inky sky that was illuminated with a million stars, unaffected by the lights of the village.

"The ashes of Hiimang flowers are really special, because inside them are seeds that can sprout more of them," she continued, opening her palm to reveal the gray ashes. "You can't differentiate them from the ashes since they're really tiny, so what you do is release them in the wind, and they spread across the forest. And once you do, you make a wish for the new year." She laughed softly. "A little childish, I suppose..." Sakura then looked off again, eyes glazing. "...but they say if you wish for the thing you want the most, it'll come true. After all, the Hiimang flower represents 'hope's desire.'"

Naruto's gaze fell onto his own small pile of ashes. "What you want the most, huh..." he mumbled.

A silence fell over the two shinobi as they were lost in their own thoughts.

Immediately, Naruto thought of his wish to become the Hokage. It was what he's been striving for since he was little. He wanted the acknowledgement for being a strong, fellow shinobi of Konoha, and not as the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails. It should've be blatantly obvious that this was what he wanted the most…

Yet something nagged at Naruto on the inside, telling him there was something much more important that he yearned for, and upon taking another glance at Sakura's faraway stare, he realized what it was.

They were always a three-member team, so why were there only two of them here?

Naruto faced his gaze upwards.

To hell what Sasuke thought. No matter what he did, nothing would ever break the bonds that they have made as fellow shinobi, as teammates, as friends.

And no matter what, he, Naruto Uzumaki, was going to bring him back.

Sensing that it was almost time to greet the new year, Naruto gently poked Sakura, taking her out of her reverie. She blinked before looking at him, a small smile on her face, her eyes slightly glassy. "Ready?" she asked. A radiant smile was flashed back in response.

"You bet."

Hearing the distant countdown from the village, the two joined in quietly, holding out their closed fists full of ashes out toward the wind. Naruto closed his eyes. Images rushed through his head.

"...Five…"

Meeting Sasuke for the first time. Wanting to be friends with him. Wanting to beat him at everything they did.

"...Four…"

Being assigned on the same team as Sasuke. Constantly getting into fights with him. Sasuke saving him. Sasuke acknowledging him. Sasuke calling him a precious friend.

"...Three…"

Battling Sasuke at the Valley of the End. Shouting at him to come back. The faint memory of Sasuke calling out to him in the rain. Sasuke leaving.

"...Two…"

Seeing Sasuke once more. Fighting Sasuke. Winning. Demanding that he comes home. Sasuke obliging.

"...One."

Simultaneously, the two hands eased their grips, and the ashes slowly fell through, dancing with the wind before settling on the ground far below. Cheers of celebration could be heard far away as the last of the powder-like material slipped out of Naruto's hand.

"Make a wish," he thought.

Team Seven getting together once again.

...Smiling.

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**End.**

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Aaaaand that's that~  
My tendency to rush the plot is so blatantly obvious I wanna cry *crawls away*

Still... I hope you liked it  
Reviews are always appreciated~

Oh yeah, can anyone guess where I got the name for the "Hiimang" flower? (if you didn't realize already, it's fake aha) I'd love to hear what you think! ^-^

*pssst* you people that are waiting for "A Year's Worth of Bonds," check tomorrow for an update ;)

As of right now, it is 01/01/2014 9:38 PM in Texas, USA.

Happy New Year's, my dears!

-J.


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